Standard Genoese
Van Genechten manufactured playing cards in various styles, including specially customised versions for commercial clients wishing to advertise their own brands on the cards.
Van Genechten, Standard Genoese type playing cards
Van Genechten manufactured playing cards in various styles, including specially customised versions for commercial clients wishing to advertise their own brands on the cards.

Above: standard pack of 'Genoese' or 'Belgian' type playing cards manufactured by Van Genechten for Compagnie Maritime Belge, 1950s. Image courtesy Matt Probert.

Above: standard pack of 'Genoese' or 'Belgian' type playing cards, with joker and box manufactured by Van Genechten, c.1920.

Above: customised pack of 'Genoese' or 'Belgian' type playing cards for JOB cigarette paper, manufactured by Van Genechten, c.1930.

Above: 'Genoese' or 'Belgian' type Bridge pack, gilded corners, c.1960.

By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.
Related Articles

Ogdens Beauties & Military cigarette cards
Cigarette cards featuring beauties and military uniforms with playing-card insets.

Boddingtons Bitter playing cards
Cool-looking courts advertising Boddingtons Bitter, originally brewed in Manchester.

AKA M5 Motorway
Promotional playing cards for the Hungarian M5 Toll Motorway between Budapest and Röszk.

Pathé Marconi
Special promotion pack for French record company Pathé Marconi.

ViVa Bourg
A distinctive deck of cards for a specific promotion.

Dancing
“Dancing” playing cards manufactured by Nintendo for Torii Dance School, Osaka.

Agent Provocateur
Branded lingerie collection in a pack of pin-up playing cards.

Shin-Tōmei Expressway Opening Commemoration
Promotional playing cards for the Shin-Tōmei Expressway, a major Japanese expressway that opened in ...

Copechat Paramount Sorting System
Preserving the past: a specimen deck showcasing edge-notched cards and their ingenious sorting syste...

Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893
A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.

Intersigma
A Czech advertising deck for a company dealing with pump technology.

An Anonymous Belgian Transformation Pack
Anonymous Belgian transformation pack borrowing many images from earlier designs by Braun & Schneide...

IG Chemie Papier Keramik
Promotional pack designed by Karl-Heinz Schroers for a German trade union with comical bears on the ...

More Menthol Filter Cigarettes
Elongated cards with designs by Wong Yui Man advertising More cigarettes.

Jockey Club de Buenos Aires
Spanish-suited pack by Chas Goodall & Son Ltd for the Jockey Club, Buenos Aires.

Barok
Dutch pack from the 1950s with colourful Baroque courts, reprinted in 1983.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days